Tragedy was part of Billie Holiday's life. It doesn't have to define it. Bethonie Butler, The Washington Post Feb. 26, 2021 FacebookTwitterEmail Andra Day as Billie Holiday in "The United States vs. Billie Holiday."Takashi Seida/Hulu A few years ago, novelist Zadie Smith was slated to write a straightforward intro for "Billie Holiday at Sugar Hill," a collection of photographs by the late photographer Jerry Dantzic. But when Smith saw Dantzic's intimate images - Holiday doing the dishes, playing with her toddler godson, cuddling with her dog - she opted instead to write a short story from the perspective of Lady Day herself.